Composing a Tension Cue

Putting Template to Test - Composing Live

We're gonna learn how to create a mid-intensity action cue and we'll check out the basic setups and use MARC's class as our example.

We'll start with defining this music style, but first, it's worth remembering some details it needs to meet to function well in the scene.

ACTION MID INTENSITY STYLE DEFINITION

WHEN TO USE IT

This music style It's generally used as background music (or underscore) with dialogues layered on top of the music.

We can say that it's like sadness with a 'motor.

We'll make a little recap:

The structure of a love cue is with major chords and diatonic melodies.
Sadness is the same, but with minor chords.
Suspense It's like sadness plus a harmonic twist, and uses more motivic elements than thematic ones.
A tension cue is built with the same elements as the Suspense plus a motor

Generally, dissonant atonality is very common in tension cues because it helps create a sense of imbalance.

Let's start with rhythm and explore the most common beats, BPM, and beat subdivision. Keep in mind that these elements are tools to guide us, not strict rules to follow.

RHYTHM

Rhythmic activity is a central element
Tempo is typically around 105 BPM, but can range from 95 BPM to 160 BPM
Mostly utilize continuous ⅛ notes , ⅟₁₆ notes or triplets, making the
subdivisions range from 190 to 380 subdivisions per minute.
Repeated chord tones and arpeggiation are common, especially when the chord
progression is slow or static.
Typically in 4/4
Meter changes possible but not frequent

The most important thing to compose this musical style is to create the 'motor,' the movement, and for this, we have three different ways to do it.

We can use:

Only orchestral instruments to get closer to an analog and purely orchestral sound.
Synths, drones, and digital FX to achieve a more modern sound.
A combination of both

Let's take a look at the most common harmonies for mid-intensity action cues.

HARMONY

Plays a central role to set the tone/mood of the scene
Usually in minor modes
Moves slowly. Sustained pedals and slow chord changes are common
Triads with added notes are frequent
Dissonances and clusters are welcome
Frequent use of distant chord progressions

As can be seen, tonality is not at the center of the composition of an 'action cue.'

While the minor mode will be present, it serves more as a flavor than a concrete tonal organization.

As described in the points, minor chords with extended notes and clusters are welcome. It's good for the style to create harmonic imbalances, which most of the time mean staying out of the key.

Let's dive into the melody and see what the style calls for

MELODY

Mostly in minor modes
Follow closely the harmonic material
Repeated chord tones and arpeggiations are common.
More motivic than thematic
Enhance the dissonant note in the harmony

One of the most important things is the 'more motivic than thematic' point.

This means that we shouldn't aim for traditional, diatonic melodic development. Instead, we should create short, functional 'motifs' that we can recognize and rearrange throughout our score

Now, we will move on to orchestration and see the most common instrumentation used for clichés in mid-intensity action cues.

ORCHESTRATION

Fast ostinatos are primarily performed with staccato strings
Fast continuous patterns are frequently found in woodwinds - using dovetailing technique
Commonly utilizes accented figures in the percussions
Commonly utilizes sustained brass lines

Before we continue, let's take a closer look at some details of these points that are of interest

About ostinatos:

Strings are the best instruments for this job because they have powerful spiccato and staccato articulation.

Continuous patterns:
In general, woodwinds are very agile and effective for playing runs, and we can take advantage of this for creating patterns.

Percussion accents:

Low-register percussion is excellent for creating accents that break up the repetition of patterns in a surprising way

Brass lines:

Brass is the least agile among all the families of the orchestra because it has a rather slow attack due to the way the sound is produced. This doesn't mean they can't play agilely, which they do quite often. Let's say that the sound projection they have exceeds their agility capacity. This is good for this style, as they can produce powerful pedal notes, which, when added to the dynamics and melodic motifs, make them the favorite instruments for this job

INSTRUMENTATION TIPS:

Commonly utilizes sustained chord in trombone section
Low register is emphasized:
a) Densed chords are favored (closed voicings)
b) Minor triads in low register are frequent (Horns are perfect for that)

Composing - Step by Step

Now let's discuss how to compose a mid-intensity Tension cue, step by step.

The next paragraphs are going to explain how Marc composed the mid-intensity Tension cue that you can see in the video above.

We will see two ways to compose the pulse:

In an analog and natural orchestral sound
In a modern synth sound blended with an orchestra

Let's look at the first Marc's example (on the analog way)

We'll start by creating a pulse with the orchestral instruments.

In this case, we'll use the strings section with spiccato articulation and a close mic setup¹

Strings performance:

In the first layer, the motor structure consists of simple 1/8 note groups without pitch changes, in the high register.
Marc creates a second layer with the same patch (spiccato strings in the high register), adding a few movements.
The third layer will feature cellos, adding weight to the low register.
The fourth layer will feature the double basses, providing support to the low bass and marking the pulse.

The work is finished on the strings section. With this final layer, we've covered the entire register (low - high) and crafted a functional pulse with a certain sense of anxiety, precisely what a good cue for "mid-intensity tension" needs

Let's see the score of what Marc composed with the strings:

Here, we can observe the string movements, where the upper staff featuring Violin I + Violin II + Vla, and the lower staff has Cello + Double Bass.

It's interesting to see how the cello plays and repeats its own motive

Let's go to the percussion set:

For percussion, we needed to find some epic instruments.

Marc used:

Taiko drums (rim and drumhead sound).
Titan percussion patch (from Drums of War I by Cinesamples)

Taikos are very common, and for other epic percussion sounds, you can find many libraries that include these instruments and patches. You can also use Gran Cassa or various large and low drums.

Let's see the score of what Marc composed with the percussion

The upper line features the rim of the Taiko drum (high register sound), and the lower line features the drumhead (low register). We can see how the rim is synchronized with the high register spiccato of the strings, while the low register provides support to highlight moments of activity and movement.

Finally, the low drum (titan) is adding a powerful punch to the set

Finally, Marc adds motivic elements to the legato string patch in the high register, creating an imbalance in the 'motor.' To enhance this, he will use a pedal in the low brass section to complement the legato movements of the high strings.

The piano and celesta will create a brilliant sound in the high register enhancing sense of tension.

Let's look into the full score to see more clarity

Highlighted in red, we can see how the piano and the celesta are combined, repeating the same motif but with semitone differences, while in blue, we can see how the violins move slowly in contrast with the rhythmic activity of the motor.

Now let's look at the brass entry:

Here we can see that the strings stop playing and give way to the brass (highlighted in red). In this case, it's a Horn ensemble but can be reinforced with Trombones or Bass trombones

Next, we'll take a look on the score of the first example composed by Marc.

Now, let's look at what Marc did in the second example.

We won't go through the composition step by step because the approach is similar to the previous example, with the difference that the 'weight of the pulse' will be on the synths. This doesn't mean that, in addition to the synths, rhythmic gestures won't be added to the spiccato strings, as the interesting aspect here is blending the sounds.

What is interesting to see in this cue is the low level of percussion and string activity compared to the previous example. This is because the synth's pulse is very versatile and contrasts significantly with the traditional orchestral sound. Excessive percussion or string movements could create confusion and issues in the low register

Let us make some observations:

The different synths work better when panned left-right
It is interesting to use CC to modulate filters on these synthesizers.
We should create register layers (high - low) to balance the resulting sound
The 'motor' with staccato strings should be created as in the previous example

What have we learned

CONCLUSSIONS

Throughout the class, we've been digging into what makes a mid - intensity action cue, looking at three main musical elements: melody, harmony, and rhythm

When it comes to the melody, we've talked about:

Repeated chord tones and arpeggiations
More motivic than thematic
Enhance the dissonant note in the harmony

As for harmony, we've been all about:

Usually in minor modes
Moves slowly and with slow chord changes
Add notes on the triad
Use dissonances and clusters
Try to find a distant chord progressions

About rhythm and mesures:

Rhythmic activity is crucial
Tempo can range from 95 BPM to 160 BPM
Use continuous ⅛ notes , ⅟₁₆ notes or triplets, to make the 'motor'
Repeated chord tones and arpeggiation
Use 4/4 mesure with different accents

Orchestration:

Staccato strings are perfect for creating fast ostinatos.
Create patterns with woodwinds; they are excellent for the job
Use the percussion for accented figures
Create sustained low brass lines

In the next lesson:

SCORING A SCENE

We will learn everything necessary to scoring a secene using and testing the template.

¹This will give us an important rhythmic support, an aggressive attack on the strings, and avoid issues with reverbs. This style requires many layers moving together, and stacking reverbs can pose challenges.

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